Vancouver Home Sales For July Fall To Lowest Level For The Month Since 2000

Home sales in Vancouver for July hit their lowest total since 2000. (The Canadian Press Images/Bayne Stanley)

VANCOUVER -- Home sales in Vancouver for July hit their lowest total since 2000.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported 2,098 properties sold for the for the month.

The total was down 18.4 per cent from 2,571 in July 2011 and down 11.2 per cent from June's mark of 2,362.

Despite the sharp drop in the number of homes sold, the board says the MLS home price index composite benchmark price was $616,000, up 0.6 per cent from a year ago, but down 0.7 per cent from June.

The total number of active residential property listings on the MLS system was 18,081, up 18.8 per cent from a year ago, but down 2.2 per cent compared with a month ago.

The board says with a sales-to-active-listing ratio of 11.6 per cent, conditions have favoured buyer in the market recent months.

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Most Expensive Houses For Sale In Canada - June, 2012

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4798 Drummond, Vancouver: Located in Vancouver's posh Point Grey neighbourhood, this house features 15,000 square feet of living space across eight bedrooms, a circular driveway, fountain and gazebo.

The circular grand foyer features marble floors. There is also a pool room (with a steam room and sauna), a media room, game room and recreation room. The garage fits eight vehicles.

75 Highland Crescent, Toronto: This house boasts "breathtaking views of the city skyline." There are four bedrooms and six bathrooms in this "smart home" that features "Porsche design" entry systems, security cameras, a power entry gate and a car elevator.

The house has a walk-in pool and sauna, a hot tub, a games room and a climate-controlled wine cellar. There's also an outdoor sound system with which to annoy your wealthy neighbours.

2100 Lakeshore East, Oakville: This six-bedroom house sits on the shores of Lake Ontario in Oakville, near Toronto. Situated on 3.2 acres, it has 185 feet of waterfront and a boat house.

The property features a triple car garage, a foyer of Italian limestone and a two-story living room. Security cameras can be controlled by way of a security panel. And the view from the back-yard pool can't be beat.

Check out this virtual tour.

105 Chemin Fisher, Austin: The realtor selling this property suggests you may want to build a heliport to get to this 200-acre estate located in a secluded corner of Quebec's eastern townships. There are several houses on this site, the main one being built in 1927. Another building is described as a "three-season chalet" and is located next to the 120-foot dock on Lake Mephramagog.

The property features multiple garages, including a 40-foot-long one. The whole place is so ritzy that a barn on the property was declared a historical site.

17485 McLaren Rd., Caledon, Ont.: No fewer than ten bedrooms and seventeen bathrooms in this house in Toronto's cottage country. The terrain features ravines, ponds and rolling farmland. Not to mention a spa, tennis court, pool room and a hobby workshop.

The realtor boasts that this property has been "in the same family for almost 100 years." One has to wonder whether this was intentional, given how long this estate has been on the market (it was there this time last year as well.)
Nevertheless, a fantastic and absolutely classy dining room in this house.

346 Riverview, Toronto: Located in Toronto's prestigious Rosedale district, this six-bedroom, 11-bathroom house sits on a one-acre lot. Fourteen-foot ceilings, a wine cellar and an orangerie are among the features to be found here.

The modernist interior design is complemented by a basement home theatre, gym and a spa featuring its own sauna and steam rooms.

4880 Drummond, Vancouver: Yet another house in Vancouver's Point Grey neighbourhood has made this list, this time a 9,000-square-foot mansion featuring seven bedrooms and bathrooms, and a four-car garage.

The realtor promises "gorgeous water views" from many parts of the house, including the kitchen. The property features an exercise room and pool room, an extra-large master bedroom suite (also with ocean views), and this home theatre done up in a slightly art-deco style.

5771 Newton, Vancouver: There aren't too many private homes to be found on the splendidly isolated grounds of the University of British Columbia, but this property near Northwest Marine Drive is one. Seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms in this 12,000-square-foot home.

The house features a "bonus wok kitchen," as the realtor describes it, on top of its regular kitchen, and the house in all boasts a games room, professional calibre gym, an indoor pool and granite floors. The patio is big enough to hold a wedding party, according to the realtor.

Check out this virtual tour.

1400-155 Cumberland, Toronto: This condo in Toronto's Yorkville district (the heart of the film festival) is monstrous by apartment standards: 10,000 square feet on two floors. Four bedrooms, five baths and "breathtaking views."

All but two of the condo's rooms open on a 5,000-square-foot terrace. The house features a library and a wine cellar, and comes with no fewer than four parking spots -- a heck of a lot by Toronto standards.

Check out this virtual tour.

PH01-1011 West Cordova, Vancouver: This condo may well be located in the most prestigious apartment building in Canada -- no other building has had units featured in HuffPost's "most expensive" lists quite as often as 1011 West Cordova, also known as The Fairmont Pacific Rim.

Penthouse 1 is described as the most prestigious condo in the building, and features two levels of living space and multiple patios and rooftop gardens. With only three bedrooms, the condo works out to $9.6 million per bedroom.

3390 The Crescent, Vancouver: Villa Russe, as this estate is known, is located in Vancouver's Shaugnessy Heights and features six bedrooms (the master bedroom has three dressing rooms), five fireplaces and eight bathrooms.

Given how expensive this property is, we're a little surprised the sellers stress walking-distance access to amenities. But in Vancouver, even residents of homes that feature their own greenhouses, heated pools and fish ponds prefer to walk sometimes.

5365 Seaside Place, West Vancouver: We thought we'd show you the pool house first, just because it looks so cool.

This house on a peninsula in ritzy West Vancouver features four bedrooms and six baths over 9,000 square feet -- spacious indeed.

Six hundred and fifty feet of natural shoreline on this property.

The house was rebuilt in 2008, and features geothermal heating and integrated lighting and security. The boat house will fit anything up to 40 feet long, and the garage fits five cars.